Today's Top Alzheimer's News

June 9, 2014

Causes of death like diabetes and Alzheimer's were nearly non-existent in 1900, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) outlines his support for Alzheimer's research, the need to fund medical research, and a new platform acts like an online memory box for dementia sufferers (read more).

Must reads

A June 8, 2014 PolicyMic graphic and article compared the top causes of death in 1900 versus 2010, highlighting Alzheimer's growth. According to the article, "Causes of death like diabetes and Alzheimer's were nearly non-existent in 1900, partially again because other health problems would have overridden them, but also because the cause of death would be have ascribed to something else. Regarding Alzheimer's specifically, because the disease is overwhelmingly diagnosed to people over 65, Americans simply weren't living long enough to suffer from it."

A June 7, 2014 Ground Report post highlighted a release issued by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) outlining his support for Alzheimer's research. According the statement, "Given these staggering numbers, it is important we focus our resources to address this disease as outlined in the National Alzheimer’s Plan, a roadmap for confronting Alzheimer’s and dementia. The National Alzheimer’s Plan is released annually and outlines steps the government should pursue in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Last year, the Special Committee on Aging, for which I am privileged to serve as chairman, held a hearing to assess the progress made in combatting Alzheimer’s disease and examined the first year of the National Alzheimer’s Plan as it continues its ongoing efforts to find an effective treatment by 2025."

A June 6, 2014 CNN opinion piece by Claire Pomeroy and Eric R. Kandel advocated against cuts to medical research. According to the authors, "Interrupting budgets on basic and clinical research is dangerous. Skipping even a few years in adequately funding research programs may seem like an obvious fiscal fix, but such a skewed notion risks devastating health as well as our nation's prosperity and security…Like them, every one of us has a stake in publicly funded science. We encourage all Americans to claim their stake, for their own sake and the sake of our nation's future. Urge members of Congress to voice their support for sustained funding for the National Institutes of Health in 2015, and beyond.Most importantly, let's keep our promise to each other, our children, our grandchildren and the rest of the world and renew America's commitment to funding lifesaving biomedical research. The opportunity to make breakthrough discoveries has never been more promising. The risk of losing that opportunity has never been more profound." Claire Pomeroy is president of the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and Eric R. Kandel, a neuropsychiatrist, received the 1983 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award and the 2000 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Research, science, and technology

A June 7, 2014 Wired UK article reported that nonprofit Memory Box Network has launched an online platform called Ourbigbox.com to help dementia sufferers store memories online. According to the article, "The idea is family and friends upload content that can be easily sifted through while with the sufferer, increasing engagement, improving cognitive functions and perhaps most importantly, defeating the feelings of isolation that are so common to individuals suffering from this devastating illness."

A June 6, 2014 Drug Discovery & Development article reported that "the Allen Institute for Brain Science is embarking on the first effort to map connectivity patterns across the whole brain in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, through its recent award of a $3.4 million grant over five years from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health."

Why 2020?

USAgainstAlzheimer’s has retained its goal of stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020 rather than endorsing the goal of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease that calls for preventing and effectively treating the disease by 2025. While we support the national plan and its goals, we believe, as most every family touched by Alzheimer’s disease believes, that preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 is simply too long a wait for concrete progress. There are promising avenues of drug discovery and development that will, if successful, deliver a means of slowing or deferring Alzheimer's symptoms by 2020. By voicing the urgency felt by so many families, we will pressure researchers and industry to do all in their power to make that happen.